The trick to keeping a bowl of granola cereal light is the ratio of fruit, milk and granola. First I fill my bowl with fresh fruit, then top it with 1/3 cup of granola and then some unsweetened almond milk. It's a great way to get your serving of fresh fruit and has lots of fiber to keep you feeling full longer. I've included the nutritional info both ways, for your convenience.

Spread oats* and quinoa out on a parchment lined baking pan. Toast in the oven 10 minutes, stirring once.

Remove the oats from the oven, pour the toasted oats into a medium bowl and add the ground flaxseeds, pepitas, pecans and dried fruit.

Reduce oven to 300° F.

In a second medium bowl, combine maple syrup, pumpkin puree, oil, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Pour over oats and stir together with a spatula. Spread back onto a baking sheet and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until golden.

This looks amazing! I wanted to get to the store tonight for these, but I didn't - definitely going tomorrow! I also do like iheartvegetables.com - any dried fruit I always add at the end, because it seems to always get chewy. Dried cranberries might have less moisture than apricots, raisins, etc. though.

I just pulled this out of the oven and it's fabulous! And my house smells so good! I can't wait to try as a cereal. I had to make one slight modification. Rather than pumpkin puree I used a leftover baked sweet potato which I simply mashed into a puree. I love all the healthy in this recipe!

I I have always loved you Gina and this is really over the top, I am so happy that you have made a granola recipe. I have been using your recipes for years and they are fantastic , I never go wrong with them. Thank you so much ;)

Hi Gina! Im following your blog from Australia, and I often convert your measurements back to metric, and the recipes still work wonderfully! I love every one I've tried, and must thankyou immensly for the Overnight Oats recipe, I eat it every morning. I was wondering however, what is Pumpkin spice? I havent heard of it here is Oz. Do you think I could use cinnamon instead? Thanks :)

I was just thinking that needed so sweet recipes for the fall/winter Bc I love to bake goodies when its cold out. Thanks for posting some healthier alternatives. Cant wait to try these pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin is definitely my favorite part of fall. Another great idea is mixing greek yogurt with pumpkin puree! I wonder how it would try with this granola served on top. Thanks for the inspiration!-Sarawww.eatfeelfresh.com

I am confused about pumpkin puree. I did read your response to an earlier post and you said 'canned pumpkin'. But, from what I understand, there are two types of canned pumpkin. Is this the canned pumpkin that you could use for a pie? Thanks!

Gina, I love your pumpkin madness recipes! I've made a few like your pumpkin butter recipe and loved it; I even recommended your site to my clients! Pumpkin is so nutritious, with plenty of anti-inflammatory properties and it's one of our very own indigenous super fruits! Now, I can't wait to try this recipe, too! Thanks!

Okay so I just left the parchment on the baking pan (no clean up now!)...my house smells incredible...just took it out of the oven and it really is delish! will have some on my yogurt as soon as it cools, and will be making another batch to share with friends!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe! I came across the idea of pumpkin granola just last week after calculating the WW P+, it was 8 pts per 1/2 cup! Your recipe is so much lighter! Can't wait to try it, I even have everything I need in the kitchen to make this right now! :-)

Gina,Did you use Craisins? as in sweetened dried cranberries? or just dried cranberries, like Trader Joe's sells? Also, did you use old fashioned oats or quick oats? This looks amazing! I bought some Pumpkin Spice Granola this summer from my local grocer and it was delish! This looks way better with way less calories. Thanks for always inspiring me to stay on track.Anna H.

I just pulled mine from the oven and I can't even begin to describe the aroma in my home. It's such a warm, calming smell.I did not have canned (puree) pumpkin but I did have the homemade apple butter from Gina! In place of the pumpkin spice, I used 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. I also used buckwheat honey, it gives it an amazing depth of flavor. I also substituted Chia seeds for the Pepita seeds.I can't wait for my dessert tonight, Chobani yogurt and homemade granola!!

Wow this looks great, definitely making this soon. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! I feel stupid admitting this but I had no idea uncooked quinoa was edible. ha you learn something new everyday I guess.

I'm so glad that I had everything to make this in my pantry!!! I just threw it together & put it in the oven while I roasted a chicken for dinner, it is done now! It is awesome, I will add this to my rotation for sure!

Very tasty. I made some yesterday, and between my 6 year old and I, it's almost gone. Big question: I do prefer my granola a bit crunchier. Is there a way to achieve that? Or is this granola supposed to be crunchy, and I missed something? I did put it in a container before it was completely cooled off. Mostly because I was pressed for time, and had to put it somewhere safe before I left the house, or it would have turned into a snack for my yellow lab who likes to counter surf. Other than the lack of crunch though, I love this recipe!

Thanks for getting back to me! Next time, I'll try making it with a little more time to spare, and perhaps let it cool more before putting it in the container. I thought the picture looked crunchier than my granola!

I was so excited to make this. I had the same problem with it not being crunchy though. I followed the recipe exactly. After 20 minutes, it wasn't crunchy at all. So I kept it in another 10 minutes. Still not crunchy, so I increased it to 400 and added another 10 minutes. Whole batch is burned to a blackened mess, but still not crunchy. :(

Just made this recipe exactly as is (except I could only find the blueberry ground flax at TJs). My 3 boys could not stop eating it while it was in the oven! They kept bringing me their empty bowls back and begging for more! I was serving it with greek yogurt and for my firstborn who doesn't like greek yogurt, I did your cut up apples with almond milk, topped with this granola idea! Brilliant! I plan on making this as gifts also.

I just made this with the additions of wheat germ and Rice Krispies (I know that probably sounds strange, but it works great in granola recipes). I made a HUGE amount of it because I'm having a pumpkin party for my son's first birthday and this will be the favors. Thanks so much for the delicious recipe!!

I made this recipe last night right at bedtime for my ten year old. It smelled so good she begged me to let her get out of bed so that she could sneak a taste. This morning we mixed it with apples sprinkled with cinnamon and greek yogurt. It was such a great fall breakfast. Thank you!P.S. So when does this book come out?!

This sounds great! Do you have any idea if I could sub quinoa flakes for the rolled oats? I've been avoiding oats, since even the GF ones don't seem to work for me, and I really miss making my own granola.

This is the first recipe I've tried from your site, and it's a keeper. Just made it yesterday and I've already had to make another batch this morning as the first one is pretty much gone and my oldest has requested more for her to munch on. Trying your turkey white bean pumpkin chili today. Crossing my fingers it's another winner.

I just finished making the granola and not only does it taste amazing but my house smells yummy too. I served it on top of warm homemade applesauce, with a scoop of greek yogurt. So yummy and filling! Your recipes are inspiring.

I have to keep my sugar really low...do you think sugar free maple syrup would ruin the recipe?

Also, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this site. I've made so many of your recipes, and my entire family goes crazy for them. Pumpkin butter is now a staple for any apple consumption. Chicken Enchilada Soup won't last 2 days in my house. Mushroom Soup...to DIE for!

I just made this and my apartment smells DELICIOUS! and it tastes amazing!! I used walnuts instead of pecans and left out the pepitas and just added a little extra of everything else. I will most definitely continue making this!!

Thanks Gina! I haven't made a recipe from your site that I didn't love :)

Made this last night - very delicious. Subbed sunflower seeds for the pecans (nut-allergic kiddo in our house) and dried apricots for the cranberries b/c we were out of craisins! I really like the crunch of the toasted quinoa - very interesting and unique granola ingredient! Had it over plain nonfat greek yogurt + apples this morning.

I made this granola this weekend... a double batch in fact! I think it's great. I noticed after baking for 20 minutes that the granola was still quite moist so I turned off the oven and let the granola sit in the oven, with the oven door closed (much like a food dehydrator) until I no longer detected moisture. I left out the dried cranberries when I baked the granola, but am adding them to the granola as I eat it for a touch of sweetness. Thanks for all of your great recipes. I really like your blog.

Gina, I've made this every week for the past three weeks and can never get sick of it! I love it with an Apple Cinnamon or Vanilla Chobani...yum :) Also, I'm so glad to hear you and your family are safe after Sandy and you finally have power back! Thoughts & prayers to all those who aren't so lucky.

I love this granola! I have been making it for a few months now & switch it up every time. Today I added slivered almonds, chia seeds, unsweetened coconut, dried cherries. I love that I can mix up the recipe each time based on what I have in the pantry. This is the best granola I've ever had & I am so glad I found this recipe! One of my faves is to serve it over a diced fuyu persimmon.

mine was not crunchy, but it still tasted delicious. I think the issue was maybe I didn't mix the maple/pumpkin mixture well enough peices didn't get enough oil and liquid to stick together. I will definitely make again and be more careful amount mixing it.

I'm sure it's delicious, but for some of us granola, any granola, is far too fattening and not filling in any rational sized portion to ever be considered a "skinny" food. Reading your NI this is no better or worse than the commercially prepared organic pumpkin granola from my local supermarket. It certainly is no "skinnier" and one must eat a hummingbird sized portion of either one. It's not worth the bother of buying or making granola from scratch.

I love the pecans added to this recipe! I also made some pumpkin granola recently. I added applesauce which helped add a little sweetness. Thanks for the recipe!http://bedstuyfoodie.com/2013/09/14/vegan-pumpkin-granola-recipe/

Hi! Just tried this for the first time (my second making granola) and while it turned out delicious, I have found both times I've made the granola it doesn't "clump" much as it does when you purchase it. Do you think this is because the store brands contain a higher amount of sugar/honey/syrup to bind it or am I doing something wrong? Thanks!